Dreams, Death, and Drag
by Something Greater
Summary: Takes Place after Feeling Like Gilligan and Open Ye Textbooks. Prologue included. Jack is wrongly charged for a murder he didn't commit, Elizabeth falls ill, and Will crossdresses to help save his friend.
1. Making Port

-**Previously**-

Elizabeth wanted to learn what was in her future, so they (Jack, Elizabeth, and Will) went to visit Tia Dalma. She decided to send them in to the future- but she sent them too far. They ended up ion the 21st century and found out that they had to complete one special task each in order to get back. Will had to ward off an obsessive freshman, Jack had to outsmart a teenaged Barbossa and his crew, and Elizabeth - who was starting to develop feelings for a certain pirate captain- had to determine which man she liked best. Her heart chose Jack and left Will very broken hearted.

After their trip to the future, they returned to find that Spaniards had capture _The Black Pearl. _Jack and his crew then decided to steal an English ship, the _Flipper. _The English Navy then cornered Jack and his crew and a battle broke out, which only stopped after they had successfully locked Jack in chains and thrown him in a boat of explosives. Jack managed to escape from the boat before it blew, but was forced to drift lazily out at sea for a day before he washed up at a desert island. A dolphin led him to the Spaniards that stole the _Black Pearl, _who then locked him up and threw him in the brig.

Meanwhile, Will takes advantage of a heartbroken Elizabeth who believes Jack to be dead. Elizabeth, Will, and the rest of the crew had a battle on another ship and Elizabeth was accidentally stabbed. Her wounds were sewn up but she was still fragile; any sickness at all could kill her. Jack's old crew managed to reclaim the Black Pearl and free the old captain. Elizabeth then managed to slip him her old engagement ring (From when she had called off her engagement with Will) and asked him to marry her. Jack, looking out for her safety (and his own bachelor status) turned her down.

And so we begin our story, several days later.

* * *

"How's Elizabeth doing?" Jack asked the doctor casually, though he was anxious to know. She hadn't come out of her room in days, since Jack had refused her proposal, and he was awfully worried. 

"Not so good, Cap'n." The doctor said. "She was doin' a bit better for a while, till you made her upset and she got worse." Jack's face fell; hadn't she seen his reason? "I ain't blamin' ye, Jack." The doctor added quickly.

"Aye," Jack was too depressed to tell the doctor to add the "Captain" to his name and turned to walk out.

"Jack." Will acknowledged the captain stiffly as they passed each other on the boat.

"That's Captain Jack to ye, Will," Jack retorted. He knew that Will thought it was Jack's fault that Elizabeth's condition was worsening instead of improving.

"My utmost apologies, _Captain._" Will snarled, his lip curling slightly.

They bumped shoulders as they moved in opposite directions. Jack had put up a front during their encounter, but inside he was just feeling worse. He stopped by the side of the boat and looked out, thinking deeply. It had been days since he had been stuck on that blasted island, all alone except for a dolphin.

_Good ol' Sylvie. I wondered how ye are, _Jack thought, smiling slightly. That dolphin had led him to the _Pearl, _so he had her to thank for the recapture of his captured ship.

"Captain! There's land ahead!" A call came from the lookout of the ship.

"Let me have a look," Jack attached a rope around is waist and shimmied up the rail. He swung his leg over the side of the crow's nest at the top and took the spyglass from the lookout. Indeed, there was a small chain of islands on the horizon. "Good. Keep ahead, men!" He called and made his way back down.

"Sparrow," one of the crew called (Let's call this man Radford, for a lack of better name) to the captain as he untied his rope harness.

"Aye, Radford?" Jack asked, discarding the rope and straightening himself.

"What _really_ happened between you and Ms. Swann?" Radford was curious and eager to squash all the nasty rumors that were going around, most of which had been spread by Will.

"What's the word among the men?" Jack raised his eyebrows.

"They say you took away her virtue, gave her a baby in her womb, then told her you never loved her and she was but a mark on your record." Radford told the other man. "They also say you left her in her bed to bleed to death and that if Will hadn't come along and stitched her wounds with strands of his own hair, then her body would have been pitched over the side the next morning."

Jack snorted threw his nose. "That's what you all have been saying!"

"Then it's not true, Captain?" Radford looked somewhat relieved.

"Not at all," Jack answered smartly.

"Then…what really happened?"

Jack swaggered to the other side of Radford and twirled his hair beads a little. "What really happened is this: I met her father, robbed him of all his valuables, jumped out the window, breaking all my bones, healed them magically, gave the jewelry I stole to Elizabeth, then chopped off all her hair and threw it down the latrine. After that I bought her a dog, introduced it to a girl dog, and then killed the boy dog and all its puppies, except for one, which I fed to the Spaniards, who gave me a cutlass in return, which I then used to perform an amputation on the girl dog. I later took the foot I cut off and gave it to the cook, and that's what you men ate for dinner. Is that any better for ye, mate?" Jack winked.

Radford was rendered speechless and stared unblinkingly at the person before him. "Jack…that's not…not really…true…? Is it?"

"Take a wild guess, Radford," Jack replied in a tone that suggested he was quite bored.

"Well, then? What is the truth!" Radford exclaimed, exasperated.

Jack became quite serious (which doesn't occur too often) and went on the tell Radford about everything that had happened between him and Elizabeth that night. Radford listened intently and nodded when he thought it was appropriate.

"So…now you see my reasons for not marrying Ms. Swann?" Captain Jack asked. Radford did not answer right away, but instead burst into a wave of tears.

"Calm down, man!" Jack became rather flustered, unsure of what to do to console his crew member.

"It's just…I- I- I got a woman I- l-love back home! And…And I don't w- w-want her to get hurt n-neither! She saw my reasons and w- w-wasn't sad at seeing meg-go, almost k-kicked me out of the h-house, she did! Your st- st-story got me to thinking' about that!" Radford sniffled.

Jack patted him awkwardly on his head before he managed to slip away from the weeping pirate and arrived on the main deck.

"How are we coming on that port?" Jack questioned the lookout, who was sitting above him, looking through his telescope.

"Good, sir. Should reach her well before the end of the day!" The man with the spyglass reported.

Jack nodded and began an inspection of the _Black Pearl, _looking over every aspect of it, from the mainmast to the foremast to the head to the quarters to the kitchen, where Jack ran his finger over the counters and examined the goo that stuck on it. He licked it and screwed up his face in disgust. "I hated that meat sauce the first time I had it."

Meanwhile, Will was pacing the deck anxiously. If they were making port, then maybe they could find a real doctor, one who could cure Elizabeth. It was their only hope. It was _her_ only hope. He couldn't lose her. Not again.

Will stopped his pacing and stooped down. He had seen something on the ground under the crow's nest. It was a gun - Jack's gun- , black and with an empty barrel. _It's a sign, _Will thought to himself. _It's a sign I should shoot Jack and tell him to get the hell off this ship and I should go reclaim Elizabeth. _Will smiled a little and pocketed the weapon, sure that he would never do something so awful.

…Or would he?


	2. Meeting the Victim

Jack hopped off the _Black Pearl _and onto land. He stood unsteadily for a few moments before he began his usual swaying motions. He beckoned to the crew to tie up the ship and join him on the island. Will was the last to get off, kissing an unconscious Elizabeth lightly on the cheek before leaving the ship. The pirates spread out, going in all different directions, heading toward the town.

Jack entered the first bar he saw, placed a small coin on the counter, and ordered a tankard of rum. He drank it all in two gulps; he had had a rough week and was willing to forget it. He slammed the empty jug on the table and called for a refill. A stooped old man with an eye patch poured more of the alcoholic drink in Jack's cup. Jack drained most of it down his throat before he stopped to think.

_By God, what the devil am I doing? I haven't had a drink for past a week now and I'm going to wreck everything! Elizabeth will never love me again and Will will still hate me. I've lost both my best friend and the girl I actually almost kinda sort of maybe really loved! _Jack gulped the rest of the rum and demanded another. He drank four more in a row before he passed out on the floor.

* * *

Will walked as briskly as he could away from the bar, his head down and the wind whistling past his ears. His long dark hair blew back in his face as he hurried away, glad that no one could see his red face and half naked upper body. 

_Elizabeth will never forgive me. Elizabeth will never forgive me, _were his only thoughts. He couldn't believe what he had done. It was nearing daybreak and he was stumbling over the paved road, trying to find his way back to his ship. His head was pounding furiously in his ears as he spun around wildly, unsure of the direction of the _Pearl. _

All he could remember from the previous night was a lot of rum and whores. One in particular with bright red hair and dark brown eyes, whose name he could not remember. He remembered a lot of kissing and touching and rubbing. Will shuddered, uneager to remember anymore. The only thing that he knew was that she wanted him to go back with her to a bedroom, but he didn't have enough money on him.

Will squinted his eyes, trying to recall what went on after that. Just a lot of kissing and touching and rubbing. Will, although ashamed of his actions, was grateful that he and the unnamed prostitute did not go any farther than that.

Will slumped against the nearest building and buried his face in his hands. A man with a long, scraggly beard opened the door of the shop that Will was leaning on.

"Eh. You going to buy something, mate?" The man asked him.

Will lifted his head up and stared at the sign in the window. "It's a gun shop?" he asked, absentmindedly touching the empty gun in his belt. He pulled it out and handed it to the man.

The bearded man took it and brought it into his shop. Will followed closely behind and into the dusty, gray room. The man opened one of the several crates he had stacked up behind him and pulled out a metal box with a clasp. He fiddled with it for a moment before opening it and pulling out a handful of bullets. Will examined them closely before paying for all of them.

"Whose gun is that? Not yours?" the bearded man asked.

"It belongs to…a friend. Captain Jack Sparrow. Have you heard of him?" Will wondered.

The other man frowned and replied, "I daresay he's quite famous among the people here."

"Why…why's he famous? What's he done to be well known?" Will wondered aloud.

"I'm glad you asked." The man with the beard smiled. "One time he came here and picked a fight with one of the guards. The guard threw him in the ocean and they say the captain swam forty miles to the next island and told them about what had happened. The officials over there then boated over here to arrest the guard for attempted murder. He was not hanged, but he was locked up for a year before he died in prison. Over here, we think it was unjust and unfair. I'll never forgive Jack for telling that lie on my son."

"Your son!" Will exclaimed, sort of sickly happy to have another reason to despise the captain. "What was his name, if I'm not being too bold?"

"He was Thomas.. Thomas Wont." The man sighed deeply.

"So you are…Mr. Wont, I believe?" Will asked cautiously.

"Aye that I am." Mr. Wont replied. "Now, you've got your gun and bullets. Off with ye! A friend of Captain Sparrow is not welcome here!"

Will grabbed his items and hurried off. He stopped outside the doorway and turned back to face Mr. Wont and said clearly, "Captain Jack Sparrow is no friend of mine." He turned on his heel and exited smartly from the shop.

* * *

Elizabeth groaned and clutched the wound in her side. When she brought her hand back, it was smudged with dark red blood that was quickly drying. She squinted her eyes together tighter against the pain and reached up a limp hand to ring a bell that was connected to her bed. 

The doctor entered moments later. Elizabeth raised her hand to show him that her wound was opening again. The doctor shook his head sadly and fetched his tools. Elizabeth winced against the shock of the needle entering her skin again and again as the cut was sewn up. The doctor got a tin cup of water and tipped it into Elizabeth's slightly open mouth. He rubbed a thick salve of something under her nose. She breathed in deeply and was unconscious within seconds.

* * *

Jack pulled his aching body off the floor and stretched painfully, rubbing his temples to make his headache go away. He got into as close of a standing position as he could, but doubled over almost immediately, throwing up onto the ground. 

The ground…hadn't he been inside last night? Jack shrugged it off, assuming that the bartender had thrown him out. It wouldn't be the first time that he had been ejected for drinking too much. Jack groaned and wiped his mouth on his sleeve before stumbling down the street and to the harbor.

After about an hour, Jack realized that he wasn't going in the right direction. He turned around a few times, trying to get his bearings. He reached for his compass, but realized that he didn't have it on him. Shrugging, he turned down a nearby alley and walked down it for about three blocks before he noticed that he had left the town. He was now standing in a field of grass in front of a small hill.

Jack trudged up it, hoping to find a hot meal and something to drink. He clutched his grumbling stomach as he made his way to the little cottage at the top. He collapsed in front of the door, panting heavily and wiping sweat off his brow.

"Bugger, that hill looked smaller from back there," He stood up and knocked lightly three times. He stood impatiently for a few moments, swaying from side to side as was usual. He banged on the door again, and was soon met by a very flustered looking woman who was wearing only a robe. Jack immediately noticed her bright red hair was messed up and her make up was smudged, especially the lipstick on her lips and the kohl around her dark brown eyes.

"Are you a client?" She asked. "Right now I'm a _little _busy, but you can come back later," she winked.

"Marie, what are you doing?" a man's voice was heard from the next room. He soon came out, his hair messed up and his face covered in lipstick kisses, wearing nothing.

"Ahem," Jack averted his eyes, and the man gasped and ran from the room. He came back wearing clothes, his face red and disguising the lipstick marks on him.

"Captain Jack Sparrow!" The man cried, and the captain realized that he was talking to Radford. "What brings you here?"

"Actually, er, it was rather an accident, as I saw much more than I ever hoped to see. Anyway, I had no idea that this was were you were staying."

"Staying? This is my house, and this is my wife, Marie." Radford introduced them. "Jack, I have something to tell you." He led him into the kitchen and poured Jack a drink.

"So, what's the big news, mate?" Jack took a sip of the rum.

"I have decided to stay here with her. I won't be going back to the ship!" Radford grinned broadly as he announced his plans, and both Jack's and Marie's faces paled. Marie grabbed her stomach in shock as her face grew white.

"That'sagainst the pirate code, you know," Jack informed him. "Desertion is death. Quite a stupid rule, I know,but one of the French's better ideas, compared to Parley and mayonnaise"

Radford's face turned color to match everyone else's. "I very well now that, but I have to leave. I want to settle down and start a family" (Marie looked sick and buried her head in her hands) "So I have to stay. Surely you understand, Captain. What with you and Elizabeth and all."

He realized his mistake as Jack got up and roared, "Ye will never bring that up again, Radford! Understand? Now fill up me drink, would ye?" Jack gulped his full cup and smiled before standing up unsteadily and giving the man words of slight comfort. "It also says that any man who is left behind stays behind, so make sure you miss that that ship, aye?"

* * *

Elizabeth, still unconscious, was laying on her side, her hands clasped in front of her. Outside on the window, a mysterious bug was flitting around. It found a crack in the corner and slipped inside. It landed on Elizabeth's ear, then flew over to her neck. It stayed there for a few seconds, before stinging her and releasing a strange liquid into her bloodstream. The insect flew away, leaving a hole in Elizabeth's neck and her health plummeting quickly. 


	3. Framed

The doctor opened the door to Elizabeth's room and gasped at her awful condition. She was paler than ever and her eyes were bloodshot. Her usually full and shiny hair was limp and turning a light shade of gray. The doctor had only been gone a few hours and he didn't see how she could have gotten so bad. He turned her over, examining her for any marks that might give him a hint to as to why.

He touched the red puncture on her neck that stood out against her ghostly white skin. A sickly sort of yellow liquid oozed out of the hole and rubbed onto his fingers. The doctor looked up toward the ceiling and at the insect that was flying around. The doctor reached up and killed it, taking revenge for what he was sure was Elizabeth's impending doom.

_Elizabeth falling in a never-ending abyss. Black surrounded her completely, and she could neither see nor hear anything through it. Around her, she knew that scenes of her life were flashing by, pictures of Will and Jack and her father and Norrington and Barbossa. She wanted to get out of there, she couldn't stand being unable to participate in the life she knew was blazing by without waiting for her._

The dream ended, but Elizabeth stayed unconscious, too weak to wake up. She was shaking slightly, still upset from the dream she had just had. It was, by far, the worst one yet. She might not have thought about it like that, however, if she had known which dream she was going to have next…

_Elizabeth saw herself, ghostly white, fading away slowly until she was almost transparent, almost a ghost. She reached into where her heart would be and pulled out a gun. She lifted it up slowly and held it to her head. Elizabeth's ghost was about to pull the trigger, ignoring pleas from the real Elizabeth to stop and think. A flood came by and whipped her away, nearly drowning her. It took her to a room full of pirates, gathered around the edge of a ship, ready to pitch a body overboard. Elizabeth stepped forward and removed the cloth from the corpse's face. She gasped when she saw who it was: Will. She threw the cloth over it and pulled it back again, unwilling to believe that it was true. She almost burst into tears when she saw that it was now Jack, his usually swaying figure stiff and his usually bright eyes dull and lifeless. Elizabeth tossed the cloth over him again and then took it off. She saw herself, pale hair, bloodshot eyes, and thin lips, dead. _

The dream ended but Elizabeth's eyes stayed shut. The doctor walked in and forced a bit of soft and liquidly food down her throat, followed by a sip of water. She coughed a little, then began shaking violently. He doctor, unsure of what to do, put a cool rag on her head to bring down her fever, then ran to the town for help.

"Have you heard?" A man with red hair asked Will as he was walking down the street. "The Malade Flu is going around! Protect yourself!" He dashed off.

Will confused, asked a gruff looking man next to him, "What's the Malade Flu? Is it bad?"

"Is it bad! Are you kidding!" The man roared. "It could be deadly! You get it and the Grim Reaper will be banging down your door!"

"How is it going around? Who started it?" Will was curious.

"It's going around by some sort of flying bug, it is. They say that someone on that ship that just came in got it first, and we don't want another epidemic 'round here!"

Will stopped and turned to the man. "The ship that just came in…not…not the _Black Pearl?" _He thought about Elizabeth and what would happen if she got sick at all.

"Aye that it is," Will's heart sank. "A girl over there got stung. The doctor was nearly out of his mind as he ran over here, talking about shaking and how the girl had an awful wound and was almost dead…Say, where are you going?" The man finished, for Will had taken off to the harbor.

Will reached the _Pearl _within a few minutes and rushed aboard, but the town doctor ushered him back. "No visitors. She's in a condition something terrible and we don't want anyone too near her. You all will have to stay here for a while; she can't get out of the bed."

Will was panicked. "But…but I'm her boyfriend! She loves me!"

The doctor stared him down. "Last I heard, her heart belonged to a Captain Sparrow. _The good for nothing dog," _he added, then turned quickly on his heel and went back to Elizabeth's cabin.

Will, although he was upset, decided that Jack had a right to know. He thought about it as he rushed down the streets, stopping in shops to ask about the location of the captain. As he walked, he grew steadily angrier, and began to blame Jack again for Elizabeth's sickness. His face grew red and he grew furious, so that when he finally spotted Jack, he jumped on him and slapped his face.

"What was that for?" Jack exclaimed. ""I'm quite sure I've never slept with you!"

"That's for getting Elizabeth sick with the Malade Flu, you dirty scum!" Will spat on his shoes.

"She's… what?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Sick, and she's practically dead, thanks to you and your insensitivity!" Will was hopping mad now. "No one is allowed on the ship and we have to stay here until she's better!"

"But…she _will _be better, correct?" Jack raised his eyebrows anxiously.

"No! Remember what the doctor said: If she gets sick at all, even the slightest, she'll be gone, Jack!" He pulled out his sword and aimed it at Jack's neck.

Jack, instinctively, reached for his gun, but patted the empty holder and looked around, wondering where he had left it.

"Looking for this, Sparrow?" Will held up the gun. "Jack, it's time you started playing fairly."

Jack took out his sword and knocked the gun away from Will. He scrambled for it, but it was kicked by away by the other man and skidded along the road and out of sight in an alley. Jack rushed after it, but was hit in the head with the but of Will's sword and was knocked unconscious. Will dragged the body into an empty alley and left him there, intending to find the gun and shoot him.

He had second thoughts, though, when he remembered how upset Elizabeth had been when she thought he was dead; she would never forgive Will if he had been the one to kill him. Will, instead, spat on his face and kicked him roughly between the legs before leaving.

_Elizabeth could not see anything around her; the whole room was in shadow. The shadowswere moving around her, engulfing her, strangling her, making her attempt to scream unsuccessfully. They pulled her into the ground and she landed on something thorny. She placed her hand down but pulled it away quickly, howling in pain. A scar was spreading over her palm, then down her legs, her arms, and over her torso. She was covered in scars, which burst open and spilled blood onto the ground. She writhed in pain as she bled, crying out for mercy._

The dream ended, much to Elizabeth's relief, and she heard voices around her, talking about how she would die and how tragic it would be. After listening for a few minutes, however, she wished she were once again asleep.

Jack awoke to screams coming from the cottage near the alley where he had been laying. He recognized it as the cottage he had visited before- Radford's cottage. He got up and grabbed his aching head, then rushed up the hill. He passed a shaking Radford, apparently going for help.

"What happened?" Jack asked him as he ran past.

"Marie's been shot!" Radford kept going as the other man threw open the door of his house and burst inside. The walls were splattered with blood and Marie's dead body laid on the ground, several holes through her chest.

Jack stooped over her and retrieved a gun that was lying on the ground- his gun. He was wondering how it had gotten there when a group of men swung the door open and locked him in shackles.

"Arrest him, men!" One of them called. "For the murder of Marie Radford!"


	4. Will's Plan

Jack was shoved roughly against his will into a small cell. The officials didn't listen to his story, even though it was the truth. He put up a small fight with the two that were holding his arms, but was attacked by three more, who jumped him and held his arms behind his back. He had been led down the hill and into the town, then to below the jailhouse in the cellar.

The small cage-like structure in which he was kept contained only a thin hay mattress and two empty tin bowls. Jack slumped against the side of the cell and pondered his situation.

How on earth had his gun gotten there? He supposed that someone had found it in the alley and gone to Marie's house to kill her. Why? That was the question Jack wondered most about. That, and the fact that he might have been deliberately set up. Who would do that? Jack Sparrow snorted to himself- he knew that almost everyone in the city would want him dead for that "injustice" that he had apparently caused.

_It's not my fault, _he rationalized. _That dodgy officer had it coming, charging me for making port, just because I'm a pirate! Don't they know Captain Jack Sparrow always gets what he wants!_

"Even Ms. Swann," a voice from behind him said quietly, and Jack realized that he had been thinking aloud. He turned on his heel and faced the dark, handsome face of Will Turner.

"Will?" Jack was rather puzzled- he'd only been in the cell for a little over an hour, hadn't he? "What are you doing here?"

Will jangled the lock and began working on unlocking it. "I'm not doing it for you- I'm doing it for Elizabeth. She only gets better when you're around, so I have to break you out, show you to her, tell her that you want to marry her, and then I come back here and let them lock you up again."

Jack smirked at him. "There's a flaw in your 'brilliant' plan, Will. If you break me out of here, they will come after me and the only way to get me off is to prove me innocent. Otherwise I will have to make an fast getaway with the _Pearl _and I can't very well do that, can I, mate? Not with Elizabeth sick and all."

Will thought deeply for a few seconds before replying, "Then I guess I'll have to clear your name, won't I?" A slow grin spread over his face as he voiced the a question that was crucial to the plan that was forming in his mind:

"Jack…do you know where I can get women's clothes?"

* * *

Elizabeth stirred a little in her bed as the doctor dipped a rag in cool water and laid it on her forehead in an unsuccessful attempt to bring her fever down. He had dressed her in much lighter clothes and had tried leeches many times, but to no avail. She was still pale in the face and the rest of her had gone almost transparent, so that you could distinctly see the blue veins in her arms and legs.

On the outside she appeared as if she were brain dead, but on the inside her mind and her subconscious were working together furiously to produce disturbing dreams…

_Elizabeth was on her hands and knees in the dirt, surrounded by hundreds of dead bodies. She held a bloody knife in her hand and her stomach churned at the sight of the crimson blood. She closed her eyes tightly against it and began screaming for mercy, knowing that she had murdered those people. As she cried out, her body shook violently and she began to have spasms. She ripped her hair out in several large clumps and begged for the fits to stop._

The doctors that were tending to her jumped back suddenly; Elizabeth seemed as if she were having some sort of seizure. Her body writhedand her arms flung out on either side of her, smacking an unlucky doctor in the face. Her legs kicked off the covers with a few jerks and she began to pant heavily, tears streaming down her face. She tossed herself over onto her back and continued to be out of control of her actions, her wild arms and legs smashing an oil lamp off the bedside table.

When the doctor managed to pick up the pieces and light a new one, Elizabeth had stopped moving, her body once again limp and seemingly lifeless. Her legs and arms were at angles and her head was jerked back. The doctor moved her tenderly into a more natural position and replaced the cloth on her forehead.

_Elizabeth was standing in the middle of the desert, her throat dry. She reached instinctively for the flask around her waist and drank deeply, but found that her throat was still dry- no water had gone down it. She furrowed her brow, lifted the container up and watched the clear water flow from the flask. As soon as it touched her lips, however, it turned to dust. She threw it away in disgust and started to walk in no particular direction for what seemed like hours. _

_She finally reached a city with tall buildings and beautiful carriages. In the middle of it all was a gleaming fountain, overflowing with cold water. Elizabeth rushed for it but was pulled back just inches from it, her feet now caught in the earth. She struggled to pull free, but she stayed put. It released her suddenly and she flew forward. _

_Before she could reach the fountain, the ground started to shake. The buildings around her collapsed in a cloud of dust and rubble. The fountain was the last thing to go, sinking suddenly before it slipped out of sight. When the earthquake was over, Elizabeth was kneeling in the middle of destruction, crying and asking what on earth she had done to deserve such a fate._

_

* * *

_

"Doctor!" a young boy burst into the room.

"Get out!" the doctor waved him away impatiently. "Ms. Swann is sick, do you want to die, too?"

"But you should know," the boy went on breathlessly. "Captain Sparrow has been put in jail! It's justice repaid! Be happy and rejoice!" The door slammed as he was shoved roughly out of the room by the doctor of the _Pearl. _

"What's wrong with that, eh?" the doctor from the town asked with a small smile as he bent over Elizabeth's sweating face. "Old Jack Sparrow got what he deserved for what he did those years ago. I wonder what he did now, the old fool- augggh! Grr! Lefgggghh!" Elizabeth's hand had immediately flown up to his throat and gripped it with a newfound strength. The doctor managed to wrestle it away, to the laughs of the other physician.

"Don't you know not to talk about Jack Sparrow to Ms. Swann?" He asked as Elizabeth once again lost consciousness. "She loves him, even though he's been nothing but a jerk to her from the start."

_Rage flew up inside Elizabeth, even though she was unsure of the reason. Within her dream, she was crying and screaming furiously as she swung her arms around, making contact with anyone that happened to come in her way. She found a torch on the ground and threw it, setting the many buildings around her on fire._

_Smoke filled her nose and mouth and she tried to scream, but found she couldn't without coughing and sputtering. She bent over double and wondered what on earth had come over her. She knew that what she had done was wrong and now she was going to burn in hell for her sins._

The doctors lifted Elizabeth up out of her bed and out of the burning room. She had had another fit, this time knocking over a lamp and setting the room ablaze. Within moments, the room had been filled with smoke and most of the things in it had been engulfed in flames.

They brought her onto the main deck, then onto the shore. They laid her down and then rushed back to her old room to deal with the fire. They smothered the tongues of fire with wet blankets and dowsed them with water. They broke all the windows that they could, to clear the room, but still most of the belongings in it were lost. All that was left were two slightly melted rings and some odd pieces of clothes and furniture.

Outside, it was much colder than it was inside the ship. Elizabeth began to have another spasm, shaking back and forth. She was met by familiar, strong arms that wrapped around her. She stopped moving and was limp in the grasp of a person in a bright pink dress with a red wig. That person had lipstick smeared sloppily over their lips and kohl applied messily around their eyelids. They cried over the unmoving body of Elizabeth Swann, who was soon removed from their grasp.

The person in the dress relinquished her reluctantly to the arms of one of the doctors, who then said to them, "By God, Will, you make an ugly girl."


	5. A Girl Called Willa

"Why, helloooooo, you fine men," Will batted his eyes from beneath the thick eye shadow that Jack had put on him. He raised his voice several octaves in a ridiculous attempt to sound like a woman. He gingerly touched the arm of one of the men, who nudged his friend in the ribs and laughed.

_Am I really that ugly a girl? _Will was hurt for a second before he shook it off and adjusted the rags that were stuffed in the front of his dress to give him a chest and make him look like a woman.

"I say, do any of you strong men know anything about the murder of a Ms.-" He looked at the notes he had scribbled on his hand. "Ms. Marie Radford? Do you know anyone who might have done that?" he batted his eyelashes again.

"What are we supposed to know?" the man with a goatee asked gruffly.

"Well, do you happen to know who might have wanted to frame a Captain Sparrrrrrow?" Will went on, drawing out his r's.

"Yeah!" one of the men with dark brown hair exclaimed. "Everyone this side of the town!" Everyone around them broke into hearty laughs, except for Will, who fumed under his powdered blush.

"Well, if you're not going to help me-" he cried indignantly.

"Well, if _you're_ not going to put out-" one of the men interrupted.

"What!"

"Ain't you a whore?" the man with the dark brown hair asked impatiently.

"I most certainly am not!" Will replied indignantly.

"Right. What's your name, whore?" the man with the goatee asked.

"I'm not a whore! And my name is-" Will thought quickly. "Willa. It's Willa."

"Well, git on out, then Ms. Willa." he turned Will around and slapped him in the but to get him moving.

Will hiked up his skirts and left the bar. He knew it had been a stupid plan, but dressing up as a woman was the only way to talk to men. He was trying to weasel out any information that be used to clear Jack's name. So far, he hadn't come up with anything.

"Hey, baby! Looking for a little money?" a man from the street called out.

Will's ears turned red as he ignored the comments. He passed another bar and met a very drunk looking Radford, with bloodshot eyes and breath that smelled like alcohol. He stumbled out into the street and threw up, then turned to Will. His eyes widened as he saw the dress, red hair, and dark brown eyes.

"Sc- Scarlett?" he called out. "Sc- Scarlett? C-come b-back t-to haunt m-m-me?" He turned and ran towards Will. If he had been sober, he would have recognized his mistake immediately. However, he was not, so he rushed over to her and draped his arm around her shoulders.

"Everything will be (hic) better now, Scarlett. We can (hic) be together, now. Right? So you can stop haunting (hic) me, okay? No (hic) matter of that unborn baby that's (hic) not mine." He grabbed Will in an embrace and pressed his lips to Will's immediately.

Will struggled for a moment before getting away. He rushed down the nearest alley and spit, wiping his mouth on his sleeve afterwards. Radford's lips had tasted only of rum, and Will had the feeling that he had just tasted something along the lines of what the inside of Jack's mouth was like.

"Bloody Radford," he cursed, looking around for a place to get a gulp of water and gargle. Finding none, he decided to visit the county jail. He located it within a few minutes and crawled through the window.

He found himself in a small room. The guards in the front were napping, so Will had no trouble slipping down the stairs and into the jail cells. There were guards down there too, but they were no more awake than the first ones.

Seeing a "woman" approach, Jack straightened himself and checked his breath. Remembering that it was Will, he hurried to the doors of the cage and waited to talk to his friend.

"What's the word, Will?" he asked anxiously.

"So far, I haven't come up with anything," Will reported. Jack's shoulders slumped. "All the men have done so far is hit on me. Radford actually kissed me, Jack!"

Jack stared at him strangely and took one sidestep away from the man in the dress.

"He thought I was Marie," Will explained hastily.

"Oh," Jack looked relieved. "So there's nothing that will get me out of this godforsaken cell?"

"That's a little harsh," Will said, and Jack raised his eyebrows. "Okay, so maybe it is bad, but at least they feed you, right?"

Jack snorted and motioned to the bowls at the edge of the cell. One was full of dirty water and the other contained a sort of grayish looking gruel. Will wrinkled his nose and dipped his pinky in the one with the gray mixture. He took it out and licked the weird substance that hung on it. His tongue flicked over it slowly before he made a face and wiped it on his dress.

"How very ladylike, Ms…" Jack stopped his sarcastic insult to wonder what Will's name was.

"Willa, I am Ms. Willa Turner," Will batted his eyelashes and mock curtsied for the captain.

"Please to make your acquaintance, Ms. Willa Turner," Jack took his hand and kissed it, going along with the joke and making Will's ears turn a shade of red.

"It's late, I'd better go," Will became flustered and pulled his hand away. He grabbed up his skirts and rushed out of the cell, narrowly missing a slap on the butt by another inmate.

Jack retreated to his mattress in the corner and took out a fork he had stolen from one of the guards on a Spanish ship. He had bent it before to escape, and worked on reworking it to fit this lock. He twisted the prongs around each other and managed to snap off one of the surplus ones. He stuck it in the lock and jangled it around for a bit, before swearing and throwing it down in disgust.

He laid down on his poor excuse for a bed and thought about nothing in particular until his eyes fluttered closed and he drifted to sleep.

* * *

Elizabeth was relocated to Will's old room after the fire. They laid her down on his old bed and began wrapping her body in wet cloths to bring down her fever. They had long since realized that there was not much they could do, and instead took to playing with the makeup that she had brought back from one of her trips. 

"Look at this," the town doctor said, opening her powder case. He dabbed a bit over Elizabeth's cheeks, taking way some of her paleness. The other doctor smiled as he rubbed some kohl around her eyes.

The doctors messed around for a few minutes, applying makeup to the sick girl, forgetting that she was contagious and sick. The doctor from the town grinned stupidly as he smeared some lipstick on her thin, pale lips. He then bent in close to kiss her. Their lips only met for a second before Elizabeth started shaking. The doctors, quite ashamed of their behavior, bent over her and began to calm her down, rubbing cool water and oil over her skin to bring down her temperature.

Elizabeth stopped shaking long enough for them to drip some water down her throat. They then soaked a cloth in water and wiped down all of her exposed skin. Thinking it wise, the doctors poured some alcohol through her lips. She coughed and sputtered lightly for a few moments before a little colored returned to her cheeks.

The doctors were encouraged by this sudden change in her complexion, but became upset when her skin resumed its previous paleness.

The two men sighed. Elizabeth was proving to be an impossible case.


	6. A New Inmate

Will adjusted his ridiculous looking wig and made sure that the two cloths that made him seem like he had a chest were secured against the corset he was forced to wear. He stumbled around in his heels for a moment, still not completely used to them. He reapplied his makeup with the aid of a small looking glass that he had tricked out of a beggar. He felt bad about it, but he had given the homeless man a handful of silver in return.

Will -or should I say Willa- set out again for the town. He had already been down there once, to unproductive results (one of which being that he had accidentally been snogged by Radford) and had not come across anything that would help him free Jack Sparrow.

Will peeked around every corner before he entered the street that followed, careful to avoid Radford and another unwelcome and drunken kiss. Will came at a sort of crossroad and debated whether to go to left to the bars or right to the old gun shop. He took out a coin and flipped it- heads he goes left, tails he goes right.

Will caught the coin and looked at it- tails. He had to examine every old, dusty, broken down building until he spotted the store that he had been in only been in once before.

Mr. Wont looked up from the table he had been attempting to dust. Upon seeing Will- er, Willa- he scoffed and waved his hand towards the door. "This is no place for a woman! Off with ye!"

Will seriously considered showing his true face, but thought wisely against it at the last moment. Instead, he adjusted his fake cloth bosom and raised his voice to what was a quite stupid attempt at a woman's voice.

"Do you know that gun that my dear sweet friend William Turrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrner brought in here?" He batted his eyebrows stupidly.

Mr. Wont scratched his hairy chin thoughtfully. "Is he the one that had Jack Sparrow's gun?"

"Yes!" Will said, too quickly and in his normal man voice. He then added hastily, "I mean, that is the one that I was talking about, Mr. Wont. Do you know what happened to that gun after you sold Will some shots?"

"Yeah!" the bearded man replied gruffly. "He turned it right over to that low down, ruddy git, Jack Sparrow, who then used it to kill Marie Radford and her unborn child!"

"I did not!" Will responded. Then, realizing his grave mistake, attempted to correct it instantly. "He didn't, I mean! And Jack Sparrow did not kill Marie Radford!"

"Oh really?" the storekeeper was more amused than agitated. "Then, what did happen?"

"I won't tell you if you won't take me seriously!" Will exclaimed, exasperated.

"Okay, I tell you what." Mr. Wont was prepared to make a deal. "Tell me everything you know, and I'll take it straight to the police. Oh, don't look at me like that- you know they'll respect me way more than any woman in this town! I'm willing to hear you out!"

Will, realizing that he basically had no other options, decided to let the man help him out.

Mr. Wont continued, "Now, tell me exactly what happened and I'll take it to the authorities. Give me all the details- don't leave anything out, okay, Ms.-"

"Willa." Will replied politely, faking a girlish attitude. "My name is Willa Turner."

"Good," the other man said, nodding. He fetched a spare piece of parchment and a quill and ink. Pressing on the table for support, he urged the other man on.

Will started from the very beginning of their trip to that town and up to what had happened that night with the murder of Marie Radford. Mr. Wont nodded periodically and only stopped once to get a fresh sheet of parchment. Will told it all as if one of his friends had told it to him.

Radford smirked as the other man finished his story and sneered, "I'll take this straight to the proper authorities, Ms. Willa."

Will got up, curtsied awkwardly, and left. He never noticed Mr. Wong laughing rather manically to himself.

* * *

In a slightly desperate attempt to bring Elizabeth's fever down to something normal, the doctors had decided to give her a cold bath. The doctor from the _Pearl_ was sent down to the harbor for a tub of chilled water. One of the ladies from the town stopped him suspiciously. 

"I say, what on earth are you doing with that water?" she asked.

"We have to give one of our patients a bath to cool them down," he said a little too happily.

The lady was outraged when she realized they were talking about Elizabeth. She stormed over to him and slapped him, exclaiming, "You dog! How could you dream of taking advantage of a sick girl? I will do it, you-" she called him a string of dirty swear words before making him carry the full bath up to ship by himself.

The doctors waited anxiously and tried to sneak glances of Elizabeth through the cracks in the doors (after a while, the lady caught on to what they were doing and gave them each a swift poke in the eye before stuffing the cracks). After Elizabeth was washed and dried, the maid who washed her handed her back over to the doctors. She stayed with them, however, to make sure they didn't pull anymore tricks.

* * *

_Elizabeth was drowning in a pool of icy cold water. She couldn't breath and she couldn't find a way to surface; the top of the pool was frozen solid. She thrashed around wildly for a few seconds, trying not to let the water fill her lungs. She finally opened her mouth to scream and the water flowed in. She started crying hysterically as she drowned. _

When Elizabeth awoke, she was, indeed, in a tub of water. She didn't open her eyes, but she could feel it. Someone was kneeling beside her, rinsing off what Elizabeth guessed was soap. That person lifted her up and dressed her, cooing sympathetically all the while, "Poor little Elizabeth girl, could go blind in both eyes and deaf in both ears…already dead in the limbs apart from her seizures…no good doctors- should have them arrested for malpractice long ago, the sods."

Elizabeth, although she could barely understand her, heard her name being said and the words blind, deaf, and dead. She silently prayed with all her might that the lady wasn't talking about her.

* * *

Jack Sparrow wasn't normal. 

Any other man would have worried deeply about the situation at hand, but not Jack Sparrow. The hangings were set for the next Saturday. Jack, having been in jail for what seemed like an eternity, had lost track of the days. Judging from the wails and cries of sorrow and repentance from the other prisoners, he could only guess that Saturday was fast approaching.

The captain had been in that type of sticky situation many times before- he had been sentenced to hang at least three times. _Maybe even four, _he thought casually as he worked on his makeshift key.

_I wonder how I'll escape this time, _Jack thought idly. _I wonder if Cotton's parrot will help me again, _he thought, remembering what had happened last time he was sentenced to hang. _What is Will- or rather, Willa- going to do to help me? Certainly a man in drag won't be of a use. _Jack sighed contentedly. _I guess I'm finally starting to rub off on old Will after all. His idea is something that I would have thought of._

Jack paused as he heard a great scuffling and a fell yelps of pain. The guards were dragging in another person who was putting up a sort of fight. There were shouts of protests and pleads that it was unintentional. The guards growled that the perpetrator would be let out in the morning with a fine of roughly 10 pounds.

There were some attempts at negotiations before a great booming laugh rang out and the sound of a soft slap. There was a yell of indignation as someone was dragged into the empty cell beside Jack.

The captain looked up, interested to see if it was someone he knew. His eyes widened as he viewed a very sullen, red faced Will Turner.


	7. Will's Tale

"Will! What the devil happened? Why are you here in jail?" Jack Sparrow exclaimed once the guards had locked Will's cell.

"Good question." Will said in his ridiculous attempt to bring his voice up high to sound somewhat female.

"It's just us, mate." Jack patted him grimly through the bars. "You can be a man again."

Will grinned, adjusted his wig and protested, "But I like it _so_ much, Jack. I wore this to know what it's like to be you."

Jack wrinkled his brow a little, confused. "What the bloody hell do you mean by that?"

"I had just been wondering what it was like to act like a woman all the time," Will smirked.

"Very funny, Will, but that is most definitely _not _your color." Jack licked his thumb and made to wipe the makeup off the other man's face.

Will looked revolted as he edged away from the bars. "Jack, that is disgusting!"

Jack shrugged and smirked. "Pirate, you know." He winked.

There was an uncomfortable silence before Jack finally broke it, saying "So now, what happened?"

Will cleared his throat and began to tell of his adventures after he left from Mr. Wont's shop:

"OKay, Let's see, then... after I curtsied and exited his gun shop, I decided to stop at a bar. I realized then that it would be much more convenient (not to mention less embarrassing) if I changed back into man's clothes. I approached the ship, forgetting Elizabeth's awful condition, and was shooed away by one of the doctors (I'm not sure which- they both seem the same when they're drunk).

"Thinking quickly, I said, 'I am Elizabeth's sister, Willa. I just came back to pay my last respects before she, um, _passes.' _It was awfully hard to say, Jack, but I had to say it.

"The only woman on board - apart from Ms. Swann, that is - seemed to consider it and said that I could only stay for a few minutes, but that I had to cover my nose and mouth.

"I almost _cried, _Jack!" Will actually let a few tears trickle down his cheek, smearing his powdered blush as he spoke. "She was just so pitiful, almost dead! Her skin was pale and nearly transparent. You could see the blood in her veins and I wondered when it would flow in them no longer. I would have kissed her then, but it would have seemed odd, me being her 'sister' and all, so instead I whispered some words to her and patted her hand before I was ushered out.

After that depressing encounter with my fiance-" Will, broke off, remembering that she had called off the wedding two weeks ago. "Erm, I mean my _ex- _fiance. Anyway, I left the ship, but not till I was on land did I remember that I was supposed to get my man clothes. I tried to get back on but was turned away quite rudely.

"I revisited some of the bars again, this time hiding in the shadows so I wouldn't be seen. I heard them talking about Marie Radford and how she was pregnant and how awful you were for taking two innocent lives.

"One of the men was boasting proudly about how he was the father and I looked up, expecting to see Radford. Instead, I saw a man who was addressed by his friends as Thomas Redd. He seemed proud and arrogant, until one of his friends reminded his that the baby was gone.

"Redd sat down, very red-faced, and cursed your name a thousand times over. Not that your name is too honorable around here," Will added with a small smirk, before continuing. "Anyway, another man rushed over and replied that _he _might have been the baby's father for all they knew. He said that almost any man in the bar could have been the father, most of them having slept with her at least once.

"It was to my great distress that all the men agreed.

"One of them then squinted up his eyes and pointed to me, saying, 'isn't that Marie there?'

"I panicked and saw that I would have to leave as quickly as possible, so I slipped away and under the table. I stole out of the back door, hiding in shadows all the while until I reached a booth where man with a long, pointed nose and yellow skin was calling out to all within hearing distance of him:

"'Hear the Truth of Captain Jack Sparrow and Marie Radford right here, in the square in a quarter hour! That is correct! Straight from one of Jack's personal friends, the real story of the double murder that took place! One bullet that killed them both! How it really happened!' the man boomed. 'Hear of their secret affair, the attempted murder of her husband, the sinking of the ships of England, and the poisoning of dear, sweet Elizabeth Turner! Come hear it all in a quarter hour!'

"I became puzzled, of course. There had never been anything at all in my story about a love affair, poison, sinking ships, or the attempted murder of her husband, Radford. At first I had been overjoyed that people would see it from your side of view, but I soon became outraged at what I had heard.

"I bided my time for fifteen minutes before the it was time for the truth revealed. Quite a crowd had formed already, and more people were clamoring up the streets, eager to hear the man.

"He started the story with what he had supposed was your birth. He claimed that you had been the product of a lost bet and a drunken night with a devil and the prostitute-"

Here, Jack snorted with a mixture of amusement and rage.

"He then reminded the crowd of what once happened with that official once, a while ago. The one that charged you unfairly for making port with your ship and was then given a year in jail. Yes, you remember. Good. That alone got people grumbling. Then he said that Marie Radford was your cousin and you raped her and gave her the child. After that, you tried to kill off her husband so he wouldn't find out about it. The man told the townspeople that you had attempted to sink the ship he was sailing on with him in it and the door to the quarters where he slept locked tight. Of course, he didn't leave out that there were four other men in that room with Radford and that you didn't care about taking innocent lives. The yellow skinned man said that you had killed Marie herself in a last resort to save your reputation. He had everyone grumbling at you and cursing his name, then announced that he would be doing a retelling of this tomorrow. I was so upset that I physically attacked Mr. Wont and I landed in here."

Will stopped to look at his best friend, the one that he had hated not so long ago. Jack was deep in thought, but said slowly. "So, in other words, Mr. Wont twisted the story and sold me out."

Will nodded grimly. "Aye, Jack. It seems so."

"Clever," the captain said, to Will's great surprise. "Now, if you would be so kind to excuse me for a moment, I need to think some things over…"

* * *

Elizabeth was completely drenched. The doctors had tried pouring water over her to cool her fever. Her skin had gone scarlet in the forehead, burning to the touch. Cool towels were wiped over her skin every few minutes or so, but it was not working-she was worsening quickly. 

"Even healthy people cannot survive the Malade Flu!" one of the doctors said. "With her wound, it is nearly impossible!"

One of the doctors wiped his brow and spoke clearly, sounding determined, "_Nothing_ is impossible."

* * *

Jack Sparrow had been pacing back in forth in his tight cell (which is very hard to do, considering its size) and thinking. He knew that the only way to be set free was to find out who the murderer was, but he had no clue. 

A small thought began to form in his mind. He waved it off impatiently, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He stood still for a while (okay, so he was still swaying. But he's always swaying- he's Captain Jack Sparrow) and pondered his idea. A slow smile began to form on his face as everything became clear.

"Jack, what is it?" Will asked, eager to be in on it too.

"Will, my dear boy, I have just realized who the murderer is."

**

* * *

**

**Okay, now reply or send me a private message and tell me who _you _think is the murderer. I already know who it is, but I would like to see if anyone else caught on. It can be any of the characters mentioned in this story:**

**Elizabeth**

**Will **

**Jack**

**Radford**

**Mr. Wong**

**Marie Radford**

**The doctor from the Town**

**The doctor from the _Pearl_**

**The lady who bathed Elizabeth**

**Thomas Redd**

**The man with yellow skin and a pointed nose**

**Just give the name of the character and I count them up to see just how many people caught on. I will be collecting votes for probably about a week or so, but if I don't get enough, the world may never know who did it! Dun, Dun, Dun! (_Inset high pitched scream here). _Please reply or send a message :)**


	8. Dreams, Wishes, and Memories

**Okay, through reviews and private messages, the majority of you voted for Mr. Wont. Alright then****, on with the story. Were you guys right?**

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"The killer," Jack went on, slowly. "Is none other than Marie Radford herself."

"What!" Will was shocked. "No it's not…it couldn't have been…wouldn't have killed the baby, too…there's no reason…why…not possible, Jack, just not bloody possible!" Will stuttered as he caught his breath.

"No, it actually makes sense," Jack said, smirking. "After a run in with one of… what did she call them- ah yes- her _clients, _she was pregnant- oh, you _do _know the facts of life, I daresay? Good, now I don't have to give you that talk." Jack wiped imaginary sweat off his brow as he went on. "Anyway, her husband, Radford, came home. I guess she figured that she could pretend like nothing was wrong for a few days until after he was gone. Then she could probably have the baby and then abandon it with no one the wiser. Unfortunately for her, Radford decided that he would like to stay, leaving Marie shocked and with a child that was not his. What was she to do?

"The answer," Will said slowly, beginning to understand, "was suicide. She found the gun that we had lost and decided to kill herself. Radford probably walked in from a night on the town and found her dead."

"Then I woke up and heard a scream and saw Radford running. I burst into the room, picked up my gun, and then the officials walked in on me," Jack concluded. "I had thought the scream had come from Marie, but it really had come from Radford, when he saw her dead body. And the gun was lying on the ground- he must have dropped it when she fell, dead."

"So no one really was out to get you at all, Jack!" Will exclaimed happily. "We can get you off the hook!"

Jack shook his head. "No, we cannot. We have no proof of that at all and no one will believe me- they hate me- and no one will believe you. Oh, don't look at me like that- you're wearing a dress, Will!"

Both men thought for a while about the situation at hand before Will smiled a little and said, "Jack, I have a plan."

"Fine, Jack replied. "Just as long as it doesn't involve me cross dressing as a woman. Somehow, I'm not as comfortable with that as you seem to be, mate."

Will gave a mock shrug. "Your loss; these dresses are quite comfortable, actually."

Jack gave a small groan. "That's fine Will, but close your legs! We can see very clearly that you have no undergarments on!"

Will's ears went slightly read as he crossed his legs under him and hastily changed the subject. "Do you want to hear about my plan or not, Jack?"

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The doctors were in distress. Elizabeth's temperature had climbed to record highs by the next morning, Saturday it was, and the doctors could find no way to bring it down. They tried ice, rum, water, a bath, a ritual performed by the minister (didn't quite work) and now they were out of ideas.

The lady that had bathed Elizabeth had long since gone home to her husband. It was quite a pity; she might have come up with a few useful suggestions for what to do.

"What do you think we should do?" one of the doctors asked the other.

"Quite frankly, I'm not sure."

"Well, do you suppose we should let her family pay last respects?"

The other doctor snorted through his nose. "Family! If this girl had any family that loved her, she would not have stolen away on a ship."

The other man nodded his head in agreement. "At any rate, the townsfolk will me much more interested in the hangings today than in the quiet death of a sick girl."

"Quite true. Who's condemned today?"

"That murderer, Jack Sparrow. He killed both Marie Radford and her baby, you know! Thought he could get away with it, I bet! Too bad he has no little friends to go crying to now, eh?" The doctor from the town grinned stupidly as he dripped a mixture of cool water and brandy down Elizabeth's throat.

"I shall not speak ill of the captain," the other man replied stiffly as wiped down Elizabeth's forehead. He stopped to take the bottle of spirits from the other man's hand. "Don not drink this. I daresay you've had _enough_ alcohol for one day."

The town doctor put up a short fight before surrendering the drink. "Fine, but when she's dead and we get blamed, we will need all the rum, ale, and brandy we can lay our hands on."

The other man drank to that with a sad sigh and a lazy "Aye, doctor".

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The guards came in to release Will. He heard their footsteps approaching before giving Jack a quick pat on the hand and a wink that said, "Don't worry. You'll be out of this soon enough."

The captain grew quite bored once Will was gone. He had abandoned his key in frustration, but now found it and began reworking it. He had no hope that the lock would open, but he needed something to do.

One by one, the other prisoners were led way, crying, praying, and swearing. With the hanging of each one outside the courthouse, Jack heard excited shouts from the bloodthirsty spectators. At long last, it was his turn.

He was cuffed, a burly man grabbed his arm, then roped his hands behind his back. He was shoved onto a small platform and a noose hung round his neck. He glanced down and felt a lurch in his stomach- he could see the trapdoor that would fall and make his neck snap. He gulped.

A man in a red hat began to read off Jack's crimes, which included thieving, lying, and, of course, the murder of Marie Radford and her unborn baby.

They looked like they were going to let the trapdoor drop, but Jack cleared his throat loudly. "Don't I get any last words?"

The man looked at him for a few moments before growling, "Fine. What does the famous Jack Sparrow have to say for his crimes?"

Will had slipped under the platform and stuck a small knife in the heel of Jack's shoe. Jack, seeing this, rose his shoe up behind him like he was going to scratch his leg, but grabbed the knife instead. "Sorry, small itch,' Jack apologized as Will worked on nailing up the trapdoor as quietly as he could.

"I am innocent," Jack proclaimed and a couple of people in the crowd sniggered. "I did not kill Marie Radford- She killed herself. She was pregnant and didn't want her husband to know, so she found my gun in an alley and shot herself." Jack worked on stalling as he frantically worked on the roped that bound his hands. "Radford, sadly, would not vouch for me that I wasn't there, as I haven't seen him since. Have any of you? No? Well, too bad then. Marie Radford shot herself to protect herself, her baby, and her husband from sadness and pain. It was all she had left."

"Have you any proof?" one of the guards asked, amused. "No," Jack Sparrow admitted. "But I have to say one thing. Actually, I am letting you all do something. I am letting you remember."

"Remember?" the crowd buzzed, confused. "Remember what…bloody hell…what's he on about…nutter…I just want to seen someone hung."

"You all can remember this as the day that you _almost _caught Captain Jack Sparrow." With that, he reached his hands up swiftly and made a clean cut through the nose as the executioner tried in vain to open the trap door.

Jack did a somersault in midair over dozens of onlookers and tore for the dock. His hands now untied, he placed the knife between the layers of his shirt. He took a last look at the city and the growing mob, inhaled deeply, and dove into the water, Will close behind.

They sunk down for a bit, then began swimming as far away from the people as they could manage. Boats were being sent out at that moment, so they didn't have much time.

The doctor of the _Pearl_ (after having rudely pushed the other doctor out onto the shore) gave a shout for Jack and Will. The pair cut through the water and emerged, dripping, on the side of the boat. Most of the crew was already there.

"We all came back as soon as we saw ye on that platform an' Will sneakin' below it. We knew ye was going to be alright an' in need of a lift." Gibbs said to them. Jack nodded, then Gibbs gave the orders, "Full speed ahead men! We've got to outrun them!"

The _Black Pearl _tore through the water quickly, foam spraying up at her sides.

Jack and Will turned, concerned, to the doctor. "What about Elizabeth? Won't this be bad for her and the men?" They asked, worried.

The doctor was grim. "Aye, but she should be- um- _gone _by tonight, if you know what I mean."

Both men were deeply saddened by this, but were determined not to cry. Secretly, Will knew that he would hate Jack again in the morning.

"Would you like to see her and pay last respects?"

Will and Jack nodded and walked off to her cabin. "Not in there," the doctor cut in. "We had to move her, because of a fire. She's in your old room, Will."

The two men walked to below the chip and found Will's quarters. Elizabeth was laid upon a makeshift bed, her pale, grayed hair spreading out in all directions on her pillow. Her lips were thin and cracked, and both men felt the sudden urge to kiss her and make them full again.

Will knelt on the right side of the bed; Jack took his place on the left. They each grasped one of her hands tightly in their own and spoke quietly to her.

"Ye are a good lass, Lizzie. Rather smart, could outwit me at any time. Remember with that bloody Kraken? That was real nice," Jack said, sarcastically. "But you were- _are_- beautiful. I'm such a bloody sucker for a pretty woman. An I don't know if you can hear me in there, but I actually maybe kind of sort of might have considered for a while about marryin' ye. Maybe. And I don't say that about a lot of women, tha's fer sure."

Will went next. "You saved my life once, Ms. Swann, when you spotted me in the water. I only wish I could repay that debt. It's such a bloody shame that you called off the engagement; I would have wanted nothing more than to marry you, Elizabeth." He gave her a kiss on her right cheek.

Jack gave her a quick peck on her left cheek. Both men knelt beside her and watched with bated breath as her eyes fluttered open slightly.

Elizabeth saw only the grim, handsome face of Will Turner and the rather serious, mystifying face of Captain Jack Sparrow before she closed her eyes again.

Elizabeth felt weightless. She felt as if she were drifting from something that had been holding her back. In her mind, she saw scenes from what she realized was her life flash before her eyes. She saw herself finding Will in the water… meeting Captain Jack Sparrow…fighting Barbossa… kissing Jack and chaining him to a pole… the Kraken…the compass… going to Tia Dalma's house… calling off her engagement… kissing Jack again…thinking Jack was dead…getting stabbed.

Elizabeth saw all of this, then something new appearedwhile the world as she knew it faded away. It was a bright light that shone out of the darkness, getting bigger and bigger, brighter and brighter until it was the only thing she saw. As it engulfed her, she slipped into what she could only guess to be the deepest, sweetest, and longest sleep she would ever experience.

**Fin**


End file.
